Pictured at top: family members of the Golby, Miles, Gutteridge and O’Neil families, descendants of the former residents of houses 119, 120, 121 and 122.
Following our lively May Open Day, The Weaver’s House received some special guests to celebrate the launch of our updated and much expanded book The Families of Black Swan Terrace.
As the house closed to the public, we welcomed in a number of guests whose families who had previously lived in Black Swan Terrace; members of the Golby family, the Miles family, the Gutteridge family and the O’Neil family. Eric Golby and Dawn McCarroll (Miles family) had both previously visited the terrace and told us about their connections to house 119. Eric’s dad and grandparents had lived there, and a number of years later, Dawn’s grandad had lived in 119. Eric and Dawn, and Dawn’s sister Laura, were delighted to meet each other for the very first time.
Several members of the O’Neil family managed to join us, all descendants of Eliza O’Neil from house 122 (The Weaver’s House itself), and covering three generations. And it was also the first time of meeting each other for some of them!
The star guest of the day had to be Betty Ecles (nee Gutteridge) who came with her daughter Jane. Betty was actually born in house 121 in 1923, and will be turning 100 years old in July. Betty’s parents and brother had previously lived in 120, and her uncles, aunts and cousins lived in the Courts behind the terrace. Sharp as a tack, Betty was happy to share some of her memories of the terrace with the other guests.
Betty as a child, photographed at the Terrace
Clare gave a short talk about the research for the book, and about how her own family history research had started, leading to the discovery of the O’Neil family at the terrace. The history of each of the families was touched on, and how they would have interacted.
It was really quite a special moment, to have the descendants of four families of residents, all sitting together in the very building their relatives had once lived, worked, played and been a part of each others lives so many years ago, and is now another wonderful piece of the terrace’s history.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the booklet. It is available from The Weaver’s House on our open days for £3.50. A bargain!
Our new publication reveals more of the lives of the past residents of The Weaver’s House.
The Families of Black Swan Terrace delves into the family histories of the house and its surrounding cottages, built in 1455. Volunteer Clare Chamberlain, who herself has a family connection to the house, undertook considerable research to build on the foundations of the previous family history booklet, Who Lived in Black Swan Terrace?
The Families of Black Swan Terrace includes all the previous knowledge contained in the original, plus a substantial amount of new research, photographs, and reminiscences gathered from various families with links to the terrace. It has been a process of several years to bring it to print, and we will be celebrating its publication at the Open Day on 13th May, during Local and Community History Month. The house and garden will be open from 10am until 4pm. As usual, admission is free and no booking is necessary to enter the site.
Huge thanks to Carol Hudd who researched and wrote the first booklet, to Clare Chamberlain for the additional research and writing of the new edition, and everyone who has contributed along the journey. We are very grateful for your help.
Have you seen our plans to bring even more of the terrace’s history to life with a new exhibition space and installation in the garden area? We would love to hear from anyone with a connection to the buildings in the terrace or the court buildings behind – even scraps of information will help to build up the story!
Please can get in touch with us via history ‘at’ theweavershouse.org (normal email format, just changed the @ to avoid spam!) or drop in at one of the upcoming Open Days.
This photo shows one of the house’s twentieth century residents, Rose O’ Neil. We are wondering if the building in the background is in Coventry, and if it still exists? Any bright ideas?
A guest blog by volunteer and descendant of former residents of The Weaver’s House, Clare Chamberlain.
In March 2020 we began lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19. We are now mid-May, and although there have been some changes, we have no clear idea of quite how we are going to emerge from this drastic change to the way we live. Many of life’s usual activities have come to a grinding halt.
But how would it have felt 100 years ago if this situation had arisen? Just as now, there would be big differences in people’s normal situations and the wealthy families in 1920 would have had a far more varied social life than the poor and therefore felt a different impact, but my thoughts turned to my own family, in particular my ancestors who lived in The Weaver’s House.
Joseph O’ Neil in 1928 compared to the same view today.
In March 1920 my Grandad, Sid O’Neil, was a six-month-old baby, living with his working-class family at 122 Spon Street (now The Weaver’s House), Coventry. In the small house there was also his older half-sister, Winifred, his twenty-four-year-old mother, Rose, and his father Joseph, who was forty-three. Joseph worked from home as a boot and shoe repairer whilst Rose looked after the household duties and the children, and thirteen-year-old Winifred was nearing the end of her school education.
The family had been through some hard times. Four years of war saw two of Joseph’s brothers killed, his first wife had died in that time too, and his young son. The world had then been swept with an aggressive flu pandemic which had taken it toll on the population, hitting harder than the war itself.
James O’Neil
Some towns did close their theatres, dancehalls and churches during 1918 to slow the spread of the virus, but quarantining and social distancing was not something that was enforced, or even advised, and a second wave of the virus broke out after people partied together to celebrate the end of WW1. Unlike previous flu strains the flu virus of 1918-19 hit the young adults, aged 20-30, unexpectedly hard.
Over 250 years earlier quarantine had been used to try and stop a different deadly disease. A village in Derbyshire, Eyam, went into strict lockdown with the agreement of the residents to try and stop the spread of the plague in 1665. Unfortunately other towns and villages did not follow their lead, and many people died in Britain and across Europe. They had no medicine to treat the ill but tried many herbal remedies, including Angelica, which is a plant that can be found growing in The Weaver’s House garden today.
In 1854 quarantine was also used in an attempt to stop the spread of cholera as it was thought that cholera spread through ‘bad air’. It was a discovery by John Snow, that it was the dirty water causing the spread, that saved many peoples lives.
So if another pandemic had hit in 1920 might the authorities have acted in a similar way as today? And, if so, how would our restrictions have affected my ancestors daily lives?
Closing theatres and dancehalls probably wouldn’t have impacted them as I doubt they had the money to entertain themselves that way, but the closure of churches, schools and non-essential businesses along with strict social distancing would certainly have made their lives difficult.
Joseph may have found that his business started to decline quite rapidly with people not being allowed to bring him boots to repair, the odd few may have found their way to be left on his doorstep, but he certainly would have had a much reduced income. I doubt the government of the day would have offered much in the way of financial support for men like Joseph.
Food, which was usually purchased several times a week, would have had to be made to last longer and go further. As the house had no electricity they didn’t have a fridge to keep things fresh, and tinned goods would probably have been increasingly hard to find, and expensive. Shopping just once or twice a week locally and remaining two metres away from other shoppers and the shopkeeper would have been a new challenge for Rose. I doubt she would have had access to face masks but a carefully placed scarf or shawl may have been useful. But as time went on would the food supply to the shops start to run low, and would the people with more money stock up on what was available?
With the family living in such close proximity to their neighbours, simple jobs like hanging out washing, or popping up the garden to the toilet could have been tricky. Maybe a rota for washday would have to be devised. And a ‘shout out’ for anyone heading to the toilet in order to avoid each other. The toilet itself, being shared by numerous people, would be a hazard. There was no wash basin to do your ’20 seconds water and soap and sing happy birthday twice’ routine.
And for the children of the terrace and the court buildings behind, who were used to being out playing with each other, being told to stay inside with their families would be harder than for our children now, who have toys, games, TV, tablets and phones. Winifred may have had a few dolls or games but nothing to help her keep in touch with her friends. Maybe she would have called out of the window to them as they passed by on their daily 30 minute walk.
With no social media or TV all the new would be delivered via the radio or newspapers. Getting the message out to people to ‘Stay at Home’ would have taken longer, but respect for rules may have been greater. I imagine the local ‘bobbies’ would have been cycling up and down the streets checking no-one was loitering.
There was no NHS to protect, and few local doctors, so the fear of becoming ill may well have had people self isolating without needing too much reinforcement. If any of my family had become ill their best hope for any treatment would have been the workhouse. Not an ideal place to be at the best of times: it would most likely be crowded at a time like this.
For us, as weeks roll into months and some of our wages, for now, are supported, food is well stocked in the shops and our NHS system is coping, most of us are able to accept our current situation and know that, sooner or later, our lives will gradually go back to some kind of ‘normal’. For Joseph, Rose, Win and Sid a number of months in lockdown could have brought a lot of suffering. They would have been unable to see their extended family, contact with neighbours reduced to a quick ‘Hello’ from as far apart as they could get, and many hours stuck inside with nothing to entertain them. The worry about lack of money and lack of food would be constant, and they may well have become ill, more through poverty than from the virus.
With crowded living, reduced washing facilities, shared toilets, poorer diets and most likely poorer overall health, a virus such as Covid-19 and the necessary lockdown measures to tackle it would have had a devastating impact on my family, and many others like it.
We hope all our volunteers and visitors are stay safe and well at this difficult time.
Behind the camera: Clare has taken many of the photos of the Weaver’s House and Open Days.
We are looking forward to welcoming you to our Open Days for 2020. Come and explore a piece of Coventry’s medieval history at our fascinating site, which was rescued from the threat of demolition!
This year, you can visit us on:
Saturday April 4th Signs of Spring
Saturday May 2nd Wool Crafts Day
Saturday June 13th The Terrace Through Time
Saturday July 11th Heritage Crafts
Saturday August 22nd Fun in the Garden
Full details on each day will be available nearer the time, but you can see what is generally on the site on our What’s Here page.
For this year’s Heritage Open Days we will be open on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September (please note that there is no access to the loom on Heritage Open Days).
Entry is free but donations are appreciated. On Open Days we serve tea, coffee and our homemade cakes.
We generally suggest that the last entry time is 3.30pm, however if you want to be sure of enjoying a tour or a visit to our tea room please allow more time.
We will also be running a special Halloween themed day again this year. Details are to be confirmed, but you can see a little taste of what the previous Halloween event entailed here.
This year, we’ve celebrated the fact that Heritage Open Days is 25 years old! The increasing success of the festival is a great sign of a healthy interest in heritage. And for the final weekend of Heritage Open Days, we also celebrated the centenary of one of the house’s previous residents.
Sid O’ Neil lived in The Weaver’s House itself during the early twentieth century. His descendant, Clare, is one of the current volunteers and she organised this special celebration to mark the hundredth anniversary of his birth.
We had some cakes and balloons to mark the occasion, but one thing we weren’t expecting was a rather special happening… In 1929 a ten-year-old Sid O’Neil went to school and played with neighbour Fred Golby. Ninety years later Sid’s son Terry and Fred’s son and daughter, Eric and Carol, met for the very first time at the terrace where their dads lived. Family history in real time!
Alongside Sid’s birthday celebrations, we also had tours, tea, cake and sunshine to enjoy the garden.
A big thank you to everyone who has come to our events and supported us this year.
Do you have a connection to The Weaver’s House or its immediate neighbours?
The six cottages of Black Swan Terrace were built as one structure in 1455, and all, including The Weaver’s House, are managed by our trust: Spon End Building Preservation Trust.
We have produced a number of publications about the history of the building, and are currently in the process of updating the booklet Who Lived in Black Swan Terrace?
We’re interested to hear from anyone who has a connection to one of the cottages, whether you remember shopping, working or living here, or had a relative who did.
We’re very lucky to have a volunteer, Clare, who is a descendant of one of the previous residents who is passionate about family history. Clare has researched the other families who lived in the terrace and we would love to bring their stories to life and fill in any gaps in time for the next edition of our family history booklet, Who Lived in Black Swan Terrace?”
The terrace, which was rescued from demolition in the 1990s, starts at 119, and the end building, with its green tiles and ‘Moira’s Wet Fish’ painted shop sign, is a local landmark.
If you would like to contribute information please email Clare Chamberlain on history@theweavershouse.org. To allow time to include it in the next edition, the deadline is October 18 2019, although information at any time is always very welcome.
Well, almost! It’s now August, and that’s Heritage Open Days Eve in our book!
We’ll be open for both weekends of the national festival, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Do you remember the early days of the festival, and the first venues you visited?
All opening times are 10am until 4pm, recommended last entry time 3.30pm. Admission is free!
Tea, coffee and homemade cakes are served on Open Days.
Find out how a Coventry narrow-loom weaver and his family would have lived and worked in the 1540s. Discover the history of this medieval building and how it was rescued from demolition by a group of local residents. Explore the working medieval garden showing the plants that would have been grown for food, flavouring, medicine and household use.
Please note there is no entry to the solar, the room containing the loom on Heritage Open Days. If you miss our August Open Day and therefore the last chance to see the loom, you could always book onto a private group tour.
And so, November draws to a close, a month that has been filled with reflection and remembrance, one hundred years after the Armistice of 1918.
At The Weaver’s House, we marked the centenary with a special event of particular relevance to the house. During the First World War, the O’Neil family were residents in the house. Three of the O’Neil boys went away to war, and only one returned.
For this special event on November 3, The Weaver’s House was awarded two There But Not There silhouettes funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. The silhouettes represent people lost to conflict. Our silhouettes were placed in the house itself, where the O’Neil boys lived one hundred years ago.
Descendants of the O’Neils: Clare Chamberlain, Paul Nolan, Debra Morris and Eve Morris.
Poster for The Window
A display of WW1 objects
There But Not There
One of our regular volunteers, Clare, is a descendant of the O’ Neils and as part of the day she presented a free family history talk including their war story. We were also pleased to welcome Coventry-based actor and playwright, Paul Nolan, another descendant of the O’Neils. Paul’s play The Window tells the WWI story of the O’Neils and has been on tour this year, you can find out more here.
Sergeant Phil Edis of Coventry R.E.M.E. (Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers) was in attendance to represent the role of the Armed Forces in our community today, and we thank him for spending time with us and our visitors on the day.
The memory board
During the open day, we had a memory board which we invited visitors to add to, in remembrance of family members lost to war. We also had a collection of First World War artefacts brought in by volunteer Brian, and another display of objects collected by Clare.
Visitors examine the artefacts brought in by Brian
First World War binoculars and cigarette cards
Shell casing, bamboo cask and clipping
First World War badges and cigarette cards
The Weavers’ Workshop, who meet at the house every week, had added a special and fitting touch with woven poppies which accompanied the There But Not There silhouettes.
Woven poppies
Reflecting on the past
Thanks to all who took part in the day, whether volunteers, visitors or other contributors, and of course to the Armed Forces Covenant Trust for awarding us the grant for the silhouettes.
Saturday 3 November
10.30am – 1.30pm
Families of War
Free
The Weaver’s House invite you to reflect on families, war and loss as, one hundred years on, we remember the Armistice of 1918.
At the time of the First World War, the house was home to the O’Neil family. Three of the young men that lived there joined the Army and were posted to France in WW1.
Only one of them returned.
For this special event, The Weaver’s House have been awarded two There But Not There silhouettes funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. The silhouettes represent people who went to war and did not come back. We will be placing our silhouettes in the house itself, where the O’Neil boys lived.
James O’Neil
As part of the day we are creating a memory board. Please come and share your stories of family members who have been lost to war, bring photographs, and add relatives’ names on the board. The house will be decorated with woven poppies created by our resident craft group, The Weavers’ Workshop. We will also be thinking of the role of the armed forces in our communities today and hope that members of the forces both past and present will join us.
One of our volunteers, Clare, is a descendant of the O’ Neils and she will be doing a special family history talk including the war story of the family as part of the day. Tickets for the talk are free but must be booked in advance due to the restricted size of the house. These are now fully booked. Please note there will be no general access to the house during the talks (approx 11am – 12.40pm).
Light refreshments will be available. Come along and bring a photo or a memory, or just come and remember.
